Giyanti Coffee Roastery – One of the Best Coffee in Jakarta

They open every Wednesday to Saturday, from 9.30 a.m to 5.30 p.m. The rest of the week, as I have heard, was not merely to relax but to roast coffee. That’s how serious Giyanti Coffee Roastery is about their coffee. For that, I insisted that we made it our meeting point that Saturday morning, considering Cali Deli wasn’t open until 10 a.m.

“When I entered, I was, like, wow! It felt like I was in Seminyak (Bali),” Marla says as she came back out to meet us on Surabaya Street. She referred Giyanti Coffee Roastery to Seminyak for its relaxed yet cool interior and its visitors, a mix of foreign and local coffee enthusiasts.

“They have really great coffee. And it’s a nice place to hang out, especially for your fashion bloggers. I hope it meets their stylish standards,” I said to her. We were in the area to do a photo shoot. Us? Photo shoot? I know! It was us, and mostly fashion bloggers hand picked by Zocko. Turns out, Gaby of gabriellaolivia.com likes to drink there, too. Fiuh!

I knew about Giyanti Coffee Roastery from the Dusty Sneakers and Valen, a food writer for a prominent women’s magazine. Both had recommended this café during my survey for great coffee venues / hang out places in Jakarta. I have never heard of this joint before and it was surprising to get, not one, but two recommendations from people I trust my coffee taste buds. I had concurred this after my first visit.

Every coffee I had there was thick and rich. Although I’m a coffee drinker, I was hesitant to drink it black. I could smell how good and strong it was, so I decided to take the milky version on both occasions.

“OK. I’ve never really drunk coffee before in my life. This would be my first,” Marla orders a latte.

“Oh no! Such high standards for the first try. But, might as well, I guess,” I succumb to the circumstances. I wish she had tried a more generic coffee first.

“Hmm… I like it. There’s a lot of milk in it. Delicious!” she smiled. It was a full house that Saturday. I would think people come here for a good cup as they probably couldn’t make it during workdays or after work hours.

“Thank you for the coffee. I’ve heard so much about it, and it really is that good,” says a couple of visitors from Europe, complete with their 60+ liter carriers. The barista sends his gratitude and throws them a huge smile.

“Lamington!” I shouted. I was surprised to see this Australian cake in their display along with other goodies. I desperately waved at the waiter and asked for a slice in a high-pitched tone, trying to suppress my excitement. I haven’t had this cake for sometime and it’s not easy to find in Jakarta. I couldn’t make what sponge cake it was, as I melted in the taste of chocolate and shredded coconut. The cake took me back to memory lane at a time I struggled to read through a paper in a café back in Sydney.

So, what were we doing there? We were doing a project involves much of www.belowcepek.com outfits. I haven’t indulged much in online shopping but I can say that I’m very happy with what I chose. The clothes were comfortable, pretty and, in our case, so travel material. We can take these babies on the road.

The air was so hot outside, especially after strolling around Surabaya Street and doing some experimental poses for the shoot. After a fun-loving work session, it was perfect to come back in and chill a bit. I sat indoor with the cool breeze of the AC and the colorful interior with Marla, Gaby and Joey. I had met Marla prior to this but I had only met the other two just then. Good coffee and good ambiance help weld new acquaintances, hopefully to good friends. Suddenly, the waiter brings us another latte.

Note: The place is pretty popular at the moment, so to get better seating it’s best to be there by 11 a.m. It gets pretty jammed by 1 p.m.

Food from Cali Deli and Madame Ching Restaurant

I eventually met Vira here to discuss more matters of Indohoy. I thought, I might as well have lunch since it was already 1.30 p.m. Geez! Time flies when you’re having fun. Another great thing about Giyanti Coffee Roastery is that they let you order from Cali Deli or Madame Ching, the neighboring restaurants. I’m not sure what the deal was, but I’m happy that I didn’t have to move just for lunch. So, I ordered the beef lemon grass sandwich from Cali Deli. It came pretty quickly and my stomach praised them for it.

I took a big bite out of the sandwich and savoured all its generous sauce. The sandwich was delicious. It reminded me of the best sandwich in the world, made by a long time friend Nia. I have yet to find a sandwich as good as her homemade ones, until today. Well, it came close. I think it was the generous amount of veggies and the crunchy-outside-soft-inside baguette that did it. What apparently looked pretty big turned out to be the right portion for me.